The moon rises

thenutgraph.com

(File pic of PAS flags by Danny Lim; moon by jcroatta / sxc.hu)

IN the midst of the 2009 Perak constitutional coup, embattled Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin won many Malaysians over with his moral courage, steadfastness and calm. He became the face of Malaysians who opposed an absolute monarchy.
Nizar was even hailed as a possible successor of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim by some non-Muslim Malaysians. To my knowledge, he was perhaps the first ever PAS leader who gained such acceptance as premier material by Malaysians across ethnic and religious lines.
Does this acceptance of Nizar indicate that PAS has really changed? Is PAS genuine in reaching out to non-Muslims? Will the party revert to its old mould if it gets into federal power?
National appeal
There is a caveat here: Those who cheer for the likes of Nizar, Shah Alam Member of Parliament (MP) Khalid Samad and Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat appear to be mostly from West Malaysia. We have rarely heard of Sarawakians and Sabahans who support PAS.
To many easygoing East Malaysians, any religious party is simply too heavy for them. And PAS cannot be a national party until it can be accepted by Malaysians from both sides of the South China Sea.

Nizar (File pic courtesy of theSun)Perhaps for this reason, the Sarawak United People's Party thought it could dissuade Sibu voters from choosing the DAP by making them believe that PAS, the DAP's ally, would threaten the beloved non-halal local dish, kampua mee.
Instead, the DAP brought Nizar to Sibu to help in the campaign. In one ceramah to a largely Christian audience, the audience laughed supportively when he said, "The largest sleeping Buddha in Southeast Asia lies in Kelantan where PAS has ruled since 1990. Have we awakened him or asked him to stand up?"
PAS is, indeed, more inclusive towards religious minorities now than many have imagined. However, one would not have been able to imagine the same PAS coming out so fearlessly to defend non-Muslim use of the word "Allah", say, five years ago.
But if PAS has managed to establish its Christian-friendly credibility in the "Allah" row, its Hindu-friendly reputation was sealed even earlier in 2007. When the Hindraf movement took conversion and body-snatching issues head on, painting Hindus as victims of religious persecution, PAS initially labelled them "extreme". But soon enough, PAS embraced Hindraf.

Siti Mariah Mahmud (Source:
drsitimariah.blogspot.com) That key decision sealed the victory for PAS in the 2008 elections in many mixed constituencies. For example, in the Kota Raja parliamentary seat, Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud won 68% of the popular vote — the highest for all PAS candidates — in a constituency with a 52% non-Malay Malaysian electorate.
Islamic state baggage
Even so, as late as 2001, PAS was still talking about establishing an Islamic state. In fact, this was the reason why the then opposition coalition, Barisan Alternatif, fell apart — the DAP couldn't stomach PAS's Islamist ambitions.
Up until its 2007 muktamar in Kota Baru, PAS still attacked Muslim groups that held different opinions as enemies of the faith. In the 2009 muktamar, the Shah Alam division demanded that Muslim feminist organisation Sisters in Islam be "investigated". However, things seemed different this time, because the motion was quickly challenged by PAS leaders themselves, such as Siti Mariah and Titiwangsa MP Dr Lo' Lo' Mohamad Ghazali.
Even so, after the watershed March 2008 elections, talks of a possible Umno-PAS unity government grabbed headlines intermittently. It was in this context that I asked once in this column: Will PAS turn blue? In other words, would PAS go out of its comfort zone, abandon the red ocean competition of Malay-Muslim nationalist politics with Umno, and go for the blue ocean of inclusive politics?
To me, the answer lies much in electoral incentives for PAS. If PAS can see its future in multiethnic politics, then it will interpret political Islam in the most liberal — still a dirty word for many PAS leaders—  or inclusive way. This it has done on several occasions. It did so in the "Allah" row, risking the displeasure of nationalist Muslim groups. It did it again in the infamous cow-head protest in Shah Alam, with Khalid vowing to uphold justice for Hindus even if it were to cost him votes.

And so, it is interesting that in PAS's upcoming muktamar, from 11 to 13 June 2010, non-Muslims will speak as leaders of the party's newest wing. In fact, it is almost certain that PAS will field a few non-Muslim candidates in the next general election. After all, it already fielded an Indian Malaysian woman candidate for a state seat in Johor in 2008.
Can PAS lead?
And so, the question that many should ask regarding the upcoming muktamar is: Will an increasingly multiethnic PAS be qualified to lead the nation?
While some PAS leaders have denied any ambition to replace Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) as the leading party in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), it is actually worth pondering on this possibility. After all, PKR is still suffering from two problems.
First, as a party that hoped to benefit from defections from the Barisan Nasional (BN), it is now losing its own elected representatives. Unlike PAS or the DAP, which denounced crossovers of elected representatives in principle, PKR still refuses to delegitimise such acts by insisting that its 16 Sept 2008 plot did not entail material incentives.

Khalid Ibrahim Second, many of PKR's leaders are still eyeing political appointments and government contracts. Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who has been resisting such pressure so far, attracted the bulk of criticisms in the party's recently concluded convention. For many, that's a sign that PKR will likely become another Umno should it come to power.
A greater role for PAS in national politics may therefore be not only desirable but necessary should PKR lose to Umno in the defection game, or if it replaces Umno in the food chain of patronage.
PAS's best bets
PAS would be silly if it thinks that setting up its Dewan Himpunan Penyokong PAS is sufficient. The fact is, non-Muslims in PAS are not full members and still cannot vote in party elections.
Possible obstacles from the Registrar of Societies aside, PAS is probably worried that allowing non-Muslims to vote would make it even more vulnerable to Umno's accusations of "selling out Muslims". But not doing more is not a viable option for PAS, especially as Malaysian politics keeps undergoing quantum speed transformation.
Therefore, there are two urgent issues that PAS should address in this muktamar.The first is its stand on bumiputeraism. After all, the Malay nationalism championed by Umno has two strands: the cultural strand emphasising the supremacy of Islam and the Malay language; and the economic strand that survives on bumiputeraism.
PAS has proven that it can counter the cultural strand when it wants to, but what about the economic strand? How can PAS convince poor Malay Malaysians that abandoning the asabiyah (communalism) mentality will benefit them? Would it be time to reaffirm the party's appeal for a welfare state?
Second, is PAS willing to assure Malaysians that it will commit to multiparty democracy, and will not replace and replicate Umno even if it were to win the most seats in Parliament? If yes, as a starter, Malaysians need to know if and when PAS plans to introduce local elections and freedom of information enactments in Kelantan and Kedah, the two PR states it leads.
And until that happens, it's left to be seen if a new moon will rise over PAS.

MIC, Maika deserve to be cursed for 10 generations

By P. Ramakrishnan | Aliran

More than 66,000 Indians, mostly poor and from the estates, invested RM103 million with high expectations of good returns. That was what they were promised, and they were enticed to rally around this Indian venture that was solely for the Indians. Many pawned their jewellery, others took loans or invested their entire life-savings to support this venture that was touted as a sure-win undertaking.

For almost 30 years, they waited in vain to enjoy the fruit of their investment. Many continued to service their loans and suffered. Others passed on, dejected and frustrated. There was no hope for them whatsoever and they stopped dreaming of the wealth that was promised them.

While the Maika shareholders suffered, the directors of Maika continued to be paid very well. They did not take a pay cut but enjoyed their full benefits.

Now, there is some kind of offer for these shareholders. They are now being offered RM0.80 for every RM1.00 they had invested. After waiting for almost 30 years, now they have to suffer not only a 20 per cent loss on their investment but also the purchasing power of whatever they receive now is a lot lower than it was 30 years ago. Instead of some gains, they are forced to suffer a further loss after 30 long years. What a tragic end to their dreams!

Even if the shareholders were given a 0.05 sen profit, they would have been thankful. After 30 years, don’t they even deserve a wee bit for the sufferings that they have had to endure?

But to offer 80 per cent is not fair at all. The assets of Maika which include a potentially money-making insurance company and valuable land — besides other assets — should have been able to yield a better return for these poor Indians, who had been led up the garden path with rosy promises.

What is unforgiveable is the fact that it was an Indian effort to raise the welfare of the Indians that was so badly managed by Indians in positions of authority.

The 10 million Telekom shares that were offered to Maika in 1990 would have helped these unfortunate Indians to realise their dreams but the Great Leader of the Indians high-jacked 9 million shares and gave them to shell companies run by his cronies. He literally deprived them of their just dues. This unforgiveable betrayal robbed the Indians of what should have been theirs by right.

It looks as if 20 per cent of their assets will be given over to those who have come up with this package to buy up the shares of these frustrated Indians. Maika and MIC have caused enough misery to these shareholders to deserve their curse for ten generations! — Aliran

Israel Will Not Allow Aid Ship Rachel Corrie To Reach Gaza Strip, Says PM

JERUSALEM, June 4 (Bernama) -- Israel will not allow any ship reach the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday, specifically refering to the approaching international aid ship of Rachel Corrie.

"We shall not allow the ships to reach Gaza. Not now and not later on," Netanyahu was quoted by local news service Ynet as saying, reported China's Xinhua news agency.

He made the comment during a meeting of senior ministers convened to discuss how to deal with the Rachel Corrie, a converted merchant ship heading for Gaza in a bid to breach the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian coastal enclave.

On board the vessel are a group of Irish and Malaysian peace activists.

The voyage is another attempt to challenge the siege following the "Freedom Flotilla," which is in the spotlight after engaged in a deadly Monday confrontation with the Israeli navy. Nine civilians were killed and dozens wounded in the highsea showdown.

Sources told Xinhua on Thursday that the Israeli defence echelon is considering boarding the ship in case it doesn't follow Israeli order to dock at southern Israel's Ashdod port.

They believe that taking over the vessel will be simple, as this is a small craft capable of only containing several dozen passengers.

MACC denies barring MP from Selcat meeting

The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has denied stopping Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam from attending the Selangor Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) inquiry into sand theft.

It claimed MACC officers only advised him that he could not divulge the contents of his complaint to the MACC to anyone, as it came under Section 29 (4) of the MACC Act 2009.

Under the provision, a complaint to the MACC is confidential until the person concerned is prosecuted.

In a statement to Bernama yesterday, the MACC said divulging a complaint could affect its investigation.

It was commenting on a news portal which claimed that Manika-vasagam could not attend the Selcat inquiry on the instructions of the MACC.

The MACC, said Manikavasagam, had contacted the commission on whether he could divulge the contents of his complaint over the theft involving Kuala Semesta Sdn Bhd.

In Petaling Jaya, Bar Council chairman Ragunath Kesavan said Section 29 (4) was not intended to stop legitimate tribunals from carrying out investigations, reports SHAILA KOSHY.

“It is to prevent mischief; it is meant to protect witnesses and prevent the sensationalisation of a case by revealing information at press conferences while the MACC is carrying out its investigations.”

He was responding to a question on why any public-spirited person would come forward if they ended up having to choose between being prosecuted or cited for contempt.

“How can Selcat investigate KSSB and its officers and take action if it cannot get evidence of wrongdoing?” asked Ragunath.

“That’s like saying an employee who lodges a police report about an alleged offence at the workplace cannot then testify in a domestic inquiry into the same matter.”

Ragunath questioned the appropriateness of the MACC applying Section 29 (4) in this case, when so much of the information was already in the public domain.

Live – Anwar trial

Another day in the trial of Anwar Ibrahim.

More economic angles to sports betting

I wanted to:
a) Highlight some brilliant points made by Derek Fernandez recently
b) Reproduce an article I wrote some time back on TMI
My Malay article basically argues that the more gambling there is (and I think there’s no doubt there will be more than before), the more financial losses the rakyat will bear on aggregate, especially low to middle income earners.
Thus, there is plenty of economic reason (in addition to many moral ones) not to encourage more betting.
Derek Fernandez’s points thus rang very true to me, and added more perspectives that I hadn’t considered. Good read!
Malaysiakini:

He also said that there was a big difference between sports betting and the existing forms of legalised gambling in the country.
“Sports betting uses the media as a platform for the purposes of gaming. Mass media like TV is broadcasted into houses. It’s bringing gambling into our homes.
“So when you or your child look at football, you don’t look at it as entertainment but as gambling,” he said.
He also said that the federal government had years ago banned the live telecast of horseracing because it de-stigmatises the activity as a form of gambling.
“But now with sports betting, watching horseracing is the same as watching a game of football or badminton,” he said.
He also said that the current plethora of lottery games as well as slot machine premises were adequate to satisfy the public’s gambling needs.
“So there is no need for more,” he said, adding that the local councils do not plan to close existing gaming outlets.
The urban planning lawyer also rubbished the argument that legalised sports betting will put a stop to underground gambling syndicates, which Berjaya Corp has estimated to represent a loss of RM20 billion per annum in uncollected tax revenue.
“If legalisation is given to the individual illegal operators, then this argument is maybe valid.
But this is not the case. By giving a monopoly to just one operator, the illegal bookies will still not close down.
“In fact, it will just create a price war and the illegal operators will still raise the winnings payouts to make it more attractive to punters,” he said.
“If you really want to be honest about it, then just award the a sport betting licence to everyone.”

My article from TMI:
Judi bola: Politik dan ekonomi
26 MEI — Saya penagih poker. Kebanyakkan orang menganggap ini bermaksud saya suka judi, dan mereka tidak 100 per cent salah.
Sebenarnya, di kalangan pemain poker sendiri ada spektrum yang merangkumi pemain yang bersifat amat konservatif (“nits”) dan yang bermain secara lebih mengambil risiko (“loose/aggressive”). Saya biasanya dikira konservatif.
Saya tidak berminat mana-mana lain permainan yang melibatkan perjudian — terutamanya di kasino.
Pertamanya, saya tidak suka bergantung kepada nasib. Dalam poker, walaupun unsur nasib memang ada, menang kalah serta jumlah yang terlibat boleh dikawal sedikit dengan kemahiran dan disiplin.
Satu lagi sebab saya mengelak dari kasino, mainan nombor dan sebagainya diungkap baik dalam pepatah Inggeris “The house always wins.”
Maksudnya, permainan di kasino, judi nombor, dan sebagainya telah distrukturkan supaya badan yang mengawal permainan itu selalu untung dan tidak mungkin rugi sama sekali. Walaupun kadang kala (sebenarnya cukup jarang sekali) kita boleh menang, dalam jangka masa panjang, syarikat judi itu selalu menang.
Dilihat dari sudut lain, maksudnya orang yang judi selalu kalah.
Itulah sebabnya konglomerat judi di merata dunia selalu mengaut keuntungan yang luar biasa, dan nilai sahamnya tinggi sekali.
Saya tidak berapa layak untuk menilai soal judi bola di Malaysia dari segi moral, tetapi saya rasa berbaloi juga kita mendekati soalan ini dari segi ekonomi dan kebajikan rakyat.
Seorang rakan di universiti jurusan ekonomi dulu menulis tesisnya berasaskan dua soalan mudah: a) Patutkah sebuah kerajaan menganjurkan loteri? b) Pada keseluruhannya adakah loteri ini menguntungkan atau merugikan rakyat?
Soalan berkenaan penganjuran loteri secara langsung oleh kerajaan berpaksikan beberapa aspek. Keuntungan dari loteri ini boleh diandaikan sebagai sesuatu cukai (walaupun suatu cukai yang biasanya hanya dibayar oleh golongan miskin dan serdahana). Hasil cukai tersebut secara teorinya boleh digunakaan balik untuk manfaat masyarakat am.
Walaubagaimanapun, jika loteri atau mana-mana mainan judi yang lain dianjurkan oleh pihak swasta, manfaat ini amat dikurangkan kerana kebanyakan dari hasil untung disalurkan ke konglomerat (dalam kes kita: Berjaya, saudara Tan Sri Vincent Tan, dan pihak-pihak politik yang disokongnya) dan bukannya balik kepada rakyat (kecuali cukai kerajaan yang kecil — halalnya cukai ini mungkin boleh dipertikaikan).
Mainan judi sebegini jelas pada keseluruhannya merugikan rakyat. Jumlah duit yang dimenang melalui judi bola oleh golongan menang, contohnya, sudah tentu cukup kurang dari jumlah yang hilang oleh golongan kalah. Kesimpulannya, rakyat secara keseluruhannya lebih miskin selepas Piala Dunia dari sebelumnya.
Kita juga harus tanya: Siapakah yang biasanya berjudi sebegini? Dalam isu judi bola, dan lebih lagi untuk mainan nombor, kebanyakkan pemain terdiri daripada rakyat yang berkedudukan ekonomi rendah ke serdahana.
Ini bermaksud perluasan aktiviti judi yang menarik rakyat dengan janji-janji untung mudah dan besar sebenarnya memiskinkan lagi rakyat yang sudah cukup dibebankan dengan masalah ekonomi.
Ada yang berhujah bahawa pemberian lesen judi bola adalah berpatutan kerana sah atau tidak, kegiatan ini tetap berlaku — lebih baik ia diregulasasikan, dipantau, dan sebahagian keuntungannya dialirkan kepada kerajaan.
Ramai pula berbalas bahawa jika pendekatan ini logik, maka ia harus diperluaskan untuk merangkumi aktiviti-aktiviti seperti pelacuran, pinjaman wang melalui Ah Long dan sebagainya.
Saya ingin bertambah bahawa lesen judi bola juga akan memperbanyakkan nombor orang yang akan berjudi. Mereka yang dulunya takut untuk melibatkan diri dalam aktiviti yang tak sah dari segi undang-undang akan kini menampil untuk mengambil kesempatan peluang baru ini.
Memang sukar untuk kita percaya penganugerahan lesen judi bola tanpa apa-apa tender kepada Vincent Tan dan Berjaya tiada kaitan langsung dengan hubungan dekat Tan dengan pihak-pihak berkuasa.
Nama Tan kerap muncul dalam perbincangan melibatkan wakil-wakil rakyat yang telah melompat parti dalam setahun dua ini, dan kita terpaksa tanya dari mana datangnya dana untuk semua “hadiah-hadiah pilihanraya” di Hulu Selangor, Sibu dan seterusnya. Ramai juga mengaitkan lesen judi ini dengan “tabung dana” untuk pilihanraya umum ke-13 yang dirasai kian mendekati.
Usaha-usaha menggunakan cara haram untuk mengaut keuntungan yang meningkatkan beban ekonomi rakyat demi menyokong aktiviti-aktiviti yang lebih haram lagi haruslah dipantau dengan dekat oleh rakyat, dan jika didapati memang benar, dibantah sekeras-kerasnya.

Gangsterism - Indian Malaysia

We are the minority in this community yet we contribute to a high crime rate. A visit to Simpang Renggam may explain to you better where the chunk of Indian community is.

Writing it with a proper statistics, we can list them as 7 percent of the population in Malaysia, 60 percent crimes belong to our community and we contribute to 14 percent of the population in prisons. Picking a specific statistics In 1994, 128 of the 377 murders committed in Malaysia were by Indians. ' '

Frankly speaking, as a minority, we should be able to have a good control of our group.The smaller, the better. However, it seems to be vice verse in this matter. So, I decided to do little yet sufficient 'homework' on this. After few reading, flipping through statistics,gathering of information from reliable sources, I compiled all of them in a piece of writing and that's what you are reading now.

One thing that is obvious that there is no proper statistics on these 'secret groups'(Gangs) because as time goes on, the groups evolve and change. Frequently, sub gangs are formed. Thus, any statistics to gauge gangsterism would have less use because the number changes often(unless there is someone who is constantly keeping track). Example of groups which are sustaining up to date are

1. Geng 04
2. Geng 08
3. Geng 24
4. Geng 303
5. Geng 18
6. Geng 36

The figure represents the amount you pay as 'protection'. For example if you belong to 'Geng 04', you pay RM4 per month and so on.

Each gang has sub-gangs. For example, Geng 24 has Ranggi24, Satu Hati 24 and so on as the sub gangs (These are the branches)

Whether the gang sustains or not depends on the leader. If the leader is caught, most probably the gang will set to 'sleep mode' until a new leader takes over.


Where , Why , How

The grass root of gangsterism is secondary school. The supply begins from secondary school. Zooming down to this issue, there some other things swim up to the surface. Low achievers meaning students who are performing below average academically seem to stand a 'good chance' to be groomed as gangsters. Mostly, these guys are from 'peralihan' classes. Some are forced into gangsterism while some choose to be part of the gang.In many cases, students who have low self esteem and who are lacking of personal awareness are the target. At school, they are usually marginalized because not many teachers are concern about them. Well, it is obvious that these students are labeled as 'problem makers'. These students usually need attention. They need someone to invest trust in them and inject some confidence in them, telling them they too can succeed. While they are tail less, has no goals in life, they find short cuts to make them self good or at least impress the girls. So they kick start behaving as 'macho guys' by committing small crimes at school. At this point, the network between these students and the 'hardcore' gangsters start to evolve. At one corner, the parents lose tracks on what are the kids doing. This is the point where they take a step higher. Network with hardcore gangster is established. They meet up, agree to be the member with the agreed amount. Once they are part of the team, they progress. Crimes that they commit set a benchmark for the progress. More crimes they commit, better position in the gang.

Mean while, some try to get some pocket money through gang activities. Usually these gangs at a bigger scale commit robbery, drug trafficking, and etc. They are also 'orang kanan' for some 'Important people'. The members are groomed in a way to receive and act as how their 'important people' have instructed, of course for a 'big money'. In this context, they are involved in murdering (Sounds like a Tamil Movie but that's the reality here). Students are usually involved in drug trafficking Recalling one of the conversations with 17 year-old boy when I attended a meeting with a NGO, he was a drug addict. He started to indulge in drugs in the age of 13. He then was involved in drug trafficking. He said he was earning around RM300 one day. However, he was unable to sustain his 'luxuries' due to his addiction.

Putting the thoughts clearer there is one strong root that contributes to gangsterism, namely, POVERTY. Lacking of parental guidance, peer pressure and etc are secondary factors.
In contemporary, Indian community's social and political mobility have been thwarted. In the Indian community, rich is getting richer while poor is getting poorer. Strangely, middle class family is doing well. The main problem is the people at grass root. The problem is there is hardly a connection and communication between well ding group with these poor people. Indirectly, this reflects the lacking of social commitment among Indians.

Moreover, our education system focuses on high achievers. Indirectly, low achievers (where you can see our boys there) are swept out. Although skill training and other options are available, these guys are clue less especially after they graduated from high school. What they need is a bit of confidence and a pinch of feeling good. Many times, there are few sources and people whom can they turn to. Some tend to be lucky to bump with the right person who actually show them the way to live while many are dragged far into the well of crimes. If we can show these people to acquire financial stability, I am certain in the future, the problem will not repeat. Grooming a person is equivalent to grooming a family

Amarjit Kaur, professor of Economic History, University of New England, Australia mentioned in his research that social problems should not be viewed as an isolated problems. It goes parallel with economy. When the economy of Indians is threaten, it gives an impact on the social compartment.

Personally I believe that this is the time where we need to bridge the gap between the 'well doing; group and the grass root people.Gangsterism in our community has reached to a point where there is no turning back.Time to look at this matter with a serious planning.

Regards,

Dinesweri
Undergraduate
Bachelor of Education (TESL)
University of Malaya
libra_dines@yahoo.com

HKL doc: No injuries, but there was penetration

Selcat: PKR’s six months bonus from two months service, 20 days salary compensation for 30 years as Indian rubber tapper

The New Straits Times on 3/6/10 at page 22 sub headlines “Select probes 6 month bonus” refers.

The Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) questioned the payment of six months bonus to employees of Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB) from Sept 2008 to June 2009 when the state-owned sand mining firm was only established in July 2008. (We have been told that Selangor Menteri Besar’s brother is running Kumpulan Semesta, which is being probed by Selcat).

On this very same day Malaysian Indian estate workers of the Bedfort estate in this very same PKR ruled state of Selangor who had worked for up to 30 years are paid a mere 20 days salary and peanuts of RM 500. To add insult to injury this was described as ‘Durian runtuh’ (Windfall).

Which now is durian runtuh – the estate workers or Kumpulan Semesta?

This is how both UMNO and PKR rewards Malaysian Indian estate workers who slogged it out for 30 long years and to the contrary how PKR starts rewarding with a six month bonus from the second month onwards!

Why hasn’t the PKR Selangor state government given out the ten acre land ownership agriculture land plots to these poor and landless Indian rubber tappers as has been given out to 442,000 almost all malay muslim in the Felda, Felcra, Risda, Fama Mardi and thousands more plots in the parallel land schemes by the 13 state governments (BH 25/2/2010 at page 4)? Why not PKR? Why not Prime Minister in waiting Anwar Ibrahim?

But when we point out to these direct discrimination we instead are accused of having a racist agenda by PKR, DAP, PAS, and their supporters.! What a shrewd way to direct away from addressing the problems of the Indian poor and landless.

P. Uthayakumar

Surat kepada PM:Mariammah 72 tahun, uzur, terpaksa kerja sebagai tukang sapu. Dinafikan kewarganegaraan dan bantuan kebajikan. (Peringatan Pertama)

NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245 Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Your Reference :

In Reply : Misc/ Jan 2010

Date : 3/6/2010

Peringatan pertama

YAB. Dato Seri Najib Razak

Perdana Menteri Malaysia,

Blok Utama Bangunan Perdana Putra,

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, Fax: 03-88883444

62502 Putrajaya E-Mail: najib@pmo.gov.my

Y.B Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein,

Menteri Dalam Negeri,

Kementerian Dalam Negeri,
Blok D1 & D2, Kompleks D,
Pusat Pentadbiran,
Kerajaan Persekutuan, Fax: 03-2693 3131
62546 Putrajaya E-Mail: menteri@moha.gov.my

Y.B. Senator Dato’ Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil

Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat,

Aras 1-6, Blok E, Kompleks Pejabat Kerajaan,

Bukit Perdana,

Jalan Dato Onn, Fax: 03-2693 4982

50515 Kuala Lumpur E-Mail: shahrizat@kpwkm.gov.my

Per: 1) Mariammah (72) masih terpaksa bekerja kerana miskin

2) Tuntutan Kad Pengenalan (Biru) untuk warganegara Malaysia

3) Bantuan Kebajikan dinafikan.

Kami merujuk kepada perkara yang tersebut di atas dan kepada surat kami bertarikh 29/4/2010 dan ingin membawa kepada perhatian pihak tuan bahawa Puan Mariammah a/p Sinnammah yang berusia 72 tahun, No. kad pengenalan 380921-10-5390 yang beralamat di 6, Tingkat 14, Blok D, Impian Baiduri, Sungai Way, Petaling Jaya kini berhadapan dengan masalah di usia tuanya. Beliau yang telah dilahirkan di Jenjarom, Banting Malaysia tetapi telah hanya diberikan Kad Pengenalan berstatus Pemastautin tetap. Penafian status kewarganegaraan Malaysia ini adalah bercanggahan dengan Artikel 10 Perlembagaan Persekutuan (citizenship by operation of law). Kami dengan ini memohon supaya Kad Pengenalan dengan status warganegara Malaysia dikeluarkan kepada Mariammah pada kadar segera.

Selepas suaminya meninggal dunia lebih kurang 20 tahun yang lau, Mariammah terpaksa bekerja dengan Alam Flora di Petaling Jaya untuk meneruskan kehidupan tetapi kini beliau tidak lagi larat bekerja kerana tidak dapat berdiri untuk tempoh yang lama serta penglihatanya semakin hari semakin kabur. S.Mariammah yang telah tumpang di rumah anaknya sekarang telah dihalau keluar oleh anaknya yang turut mengalami masalah kemiskinan keluarganya sendiri. Dia juga sedang merana kerana kakinya mengalami luka dan tidak mampu untuk merawatinya sebab tidak lagi mampu. Malah beliau tiada cukup duit untuk mengalas perut walaupun sekali dalam sehari.

Sebagai salah seorang warga emas negara ini beliau tidak pernah mendapat sebarang bantuan kebajikan. Kini beliau amat memerlukan sebuah tempat tinggal dan bantuan kebajikan setiap bulan untuk menyara kehidupannya.

Kami sedia maklum bahawa dalam Bajet 2010 kerajaan telah menyediakan RM48 Million untuk program kebajikan termasuk bantuan serta bayaran sewa dan juga RM174 Million untuk warga emas. (NST 24/10/09 muka surat 10). Dalam Bajet 2010 Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan Dato Seri Najib telah mengumumkan bahawa indeks garisan kemiskinan bagi sebulan ialah RM 687.00. Akan tetapi Mariammah dan beratus ribu lagi orang- orang miskin dan miskin tegar dari kalangan masyarakat India telah dinafikan bantuan ini. Kenapa peruntukan berjuta- juta ringgit ini tidak sampai kepada Mariammah dan juga beratus-ribu masyarakat India yang miskin yang lain. Juga kenapa Mariammah tidak diberi Kad subsidi e-kasih yang termasuk dalam peruntukan sebanyak RM 174 Million untuk warga emas tersebut. (NST 24/10/09 muka surat 12).

Oleh yang demikian kami meminta agar S. Mariammah diberikan Kad Pengenalan dengan status sebagai warganegara Malaysia, bantuan kebajikan sebanyak RM687.00 sebulan serta Kad subsidi e-kasih dan sebuah rumah flat satu bilik. Dengan ini mudah- mudahan akhir hayat Mariammah akan lebih bermakna dan beliau dapat menghembuskan nafas terakhirnya sebagai seorang warganegara Malaysia dalam Satu Malaysia seperti yang diwar-warkan oleh Perdana Menteri.

Jawapan dan tindakan segera pihak YAB/YB dalam perkara ini disanjung tinggi.

Sekian,

Terima Kasih,

Yang Benar,

____________________

P.Uthayakumar

Setiausaha Agong (penaja)

7As’ and above but denied JPA, Matriculation & University. Affected parents and students Meeting.

NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar,
59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  
Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245                 Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com Email:info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com

7As’ & above SPM students denied JPA scholarships, Matriculation & local public Universities places. Action plan Meeting on sunday 6/6/2010 @ 11.00a.m. All affected parents and students are welcome @ HRP H.Q, Bangsar. 03-22825241 www.humarightspartymalaysia.com.
This is recurring problem year in year out in over the last 35 years. The purpose of this meeting is to deliberate on ways and means to resolve this year’s problem and so that it does not recur in the future.
Please circulate this to all your friends.
Sambhu : 010-2774096
Thiaga: 019-3085944
Latha : 016-6019703

Yours Faithfully,
____________
P.Uthayakumar
Secretary General (protem)

MIC Thugs

Rafidah defends Samy Vellu, calls detractors ‘ungrateful’

The Malaysian Insider

Rafidah recounted how Samy Vellu had fought for the Indian community 

previously. — Picture by Choo Choo May

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — A veteran Umno leader has broken the party’s silence over the fiasco surrounding MIC party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu by calling his detractors “ungrateful” and lacking in grace.

Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, who used to sit in the Cabinet with Samy Vellu for decades before the 2008 general elections, has come out in full support of the party president and urged all quarters to respect his exit plan.
The outspoken leader, known as the “iron lady”, said she truly “pitied” Samy Vellu as it was evident from the rising revolt against him that his efforts and struggles over the past three decades had been long forgotten.
“For someone who has worked so long and fought so hard for the Indian community, it is really unfair to drag him out like this.
“I was in Cabinet with him and I know how hard he had fought to get things for the community. He fought with us all, against us all.
“I pity him, really, and how people have failed to acknowledge what he has done... it is just unfair,” she told The Malaysian Insider in a recent interview.
Rafidah urged Samy Vellu’s opponents not to publicly embarrass their long-serving president by attempting to oust him before his time but to respect his quit plan.
“He says he will step down, so why not respect his plan? MIC will not go to ashes just because Samy Vellu sticks around for just a few more months,” she said.
Rafidah pointed out that those who were trying to take over from Samy Vellu lacked grace in their manner of publicly humiliating the leader.
“Always do things with grace. This is so that when you take over, your leadership will be blessed. If you pull people down and you talk bad about them or mount pressure to reject them, it shows you are not a leader.
“Leaders unite, they do not divide,” she said.

Samy Vellu’s retirement plan was met with opposition from some party members. — file pic

After Samy Vellu revealed his plan to resign as president by September 2011, ahead of his term of expiration in May 2012, his words were met with much criticism. Top party leaders complained that the president should leave even earlier than his stipulated plan and urged him to step down during the party’s congress next month.
Among those in the fray were former MIC Youth deputy chief, V. Mugilan, and central working committee members, KP Samy and G. Kumar Aamaan.
All three have since been sacked after speaking out, and have gone on to lead a revolt called the Anti-Samy Vellu Movement (GAS) to express party members’ dissatisfaction with the president.
Former party secretary-general S. Murugessan was also subsequently dismissed from his post when he disagreed with Samy Vellu’s decision to expel the leaders.
Mugilan and Kumar Aamaan yesterday appealed their expulsions.
Rafidah defended Samy Vellu’s sacking orders and said that his members should already be well aware that this was the fiery leader’s way of doing things.
“This has always been his style. Sure, people may not agree but then people already know that this is his style.
“So why work against him when you can work with him? Instead of washing your dirty linen in public, why not speak with him privately and tell him of your disagreements?
“No leader appreciates being repudiated publicly, even the most patient ones will snap,” she said.
******
The Star

Thursday June 3, 2010

Sacked leader slams Samy Vellu

PETALING JAYA: Senator Datuk G. Palanivel’s appointment as a deputy minister exposes MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s insincerity in handing the reins to his deputy.
Sacked party leader K.P. Samy questioned why Palanivel was given a deputy ministerial post when party vice-president Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam remains as Human Resource Minister.
“This goes against the party hierarchy. If Samy Vellu was sincere in passing over the pre­sidency to Palanivel, should he not have recommended that Palanivel be made minister?
“Did he (Samy Vellu) not follow party hierarchy when he demoted (Tan Sri) Mahalingam from deputy minister to parliamentary secretary more than 10 years ago?” asked K.P. Samy.
Palanivel was appointed Deputy Planta­tion Industries and Commo­dities Minister as part of a mini Cabinet reshuffle announced on Tuesday.
K.P. Samy also urged Dr Subramaniam to step down as minister to pave the way for Palanivel, claiming that failure to do so would be an indication that Dr Subramaniam was also “eyeing the presidency”.
On the Gerakan Anti-Samy (GAS), K.P. Samy said the next gathering would be held in Klang on June 13 despite the lower-than-expected crowd during its launch on May 30.
GAS was formed to pressure Samy Vellu to quit before his September deadline next year.
“Our message is for Samy Vellu to step down quickly, otherwise the in-fighting will continue. But we will be using a different approach. There will be no personal attacks against him,” he added.
On whether he would appeal against his sacking, K.P. Samy said he would discuss with his followers before making a decision after the June 13 gathering.
*****

Saiful was sodomised, says doctor

KUALA LUMPUR: A doctor who examined the young man accusing Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy testified today there was evidence of sexual penetration even though he found no injuries.

Anwar, a former deputy premier who was sacked and jailed on separate sex and corruption counts a decade ago, has insisted the charges have been concocted in a conspiracy to end his political career.

On Thursday prosecutors at his trial took aim at the defence's argument that medical reports showed no evidence of anal sex.

Mohamad Razali Ibrahim, a doctor at Kuala Lumpur Hospital who examined 25-year-old Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan after he complained he had been sodomised in 2008, said semen was detected on swabs he took from his body.

"With all the reports before me now, I would say there is evidence of penetration even without clinical injuries. With the presence of semen I would say there is anal penetration," he told the court.

The hearing adjourned for the day but defence counsel Sankara Nair said outside the court that the semen could have been introduced artificially.

"The semen could be anybody's, they have not established whose semen it is," he told reporters.

Nair said that Anwar had an alibi and would argue that during the time of the alleged incident, at an upmarket Kuala Lumpur condominium, he was in fact at a meeting at another apartment in the building.

"The alibi is our defence. He (Anwar) was at the opposite condo with several people including the owner," he said.

Anwar has said he is the victim of a plot to prevent him from taking power, after the opposition made huge strides in 2008 elections, stunning the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition which has been in power for half a century.

The trial began in February but has been punctuated by lengthy delays. At the end of the week it will go into a hiatus until mid-July.

Which condo unit?

Meanwhile Mohd Saiful, when questioned by Anwar's lead counsel Karpal Singh, denied that Anwar was in another condominium unit at the time of the alleged act.

Mohd Saiful, the prosecution's key witness in the sodomy trial, maintained that Anwar was at the unit of the Desa Damansara Condominium where the alleged sodomy took place, and not in another unit of the condominium as suggested by Anwar's counsel Karpal Singh.

Saiful said he had gone to the first unit of the condominium on June 26, 2008, to deliver a document to Anwar.

Karpal Singh: I put it to you that what you stated in your testimony in court did not take place in Unit 11-5-1 of that condominium.

Mohd Saiful: Not true.

Karpal Singh: I put it to you that Anwar was in Unit 11-5-2 of that condominium.

Mohd Saiful: No.

Karpal Singh: Again, as you said in court, it was not true that Anwar was in Unit 11-5-1 of the condominium.

Mohd Saiful: No. He was in Unit 11-5-1.

Karpal Singh: I suggest that Anwar was in Unit 11-5-2.

Mohd Saiful: No.

Karpal Singh then told the court that he had submitted the copy of the alibi notice that his client was not present at Unit 11-5-1 as alleged, to the prosecution on June 19 last year.

Judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah allowed Karpal Singh's application that the hearing, subsequently, be held in camera as it involved the alibi notice of his client.

The hearing in camera took about 14 minutes and the public were allowed to re-enter the courtroom after the defence had finished its cross-examination of Mohd Saiful, who appeared calm and soft-spoken while answering Karpal Singh's questions.

Anwar, 63, who is also the Permatang Pauh Member of Parliament, is charged with sodomising Mohd Saiful, 25, his former aide, at Unit 11-5-1, Desa Damansara Condominium, Jalan Setiakasih, Bukit Damansara here, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

- AFP/Bernama

12 Malaysian volunteers coming home on Sunday

KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and the 12 Malaysian volunteers seized by Israeli troops in Monday's raid on a Gaza humanitarian ship convoy are scheduled to return to Malaysia on Sunday.
The Foreign Ministry, in a statement here today, said that the group was expected to arrive at the KL International Airport (KLIA) at 5.40am.
Wisma Putra and the staff of the Malaysian embassy in Amman are assisting the volunteers with their travel documents and arrangements for them to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, tomorrow to collect their belongings.
Anifah, who met all the 12 volunteers in Jordan last night, shortly upon his arrival in Amman, was relieved to see that everyone was safe and that the deportation process from Israel went smoothly, the statement said.
"On behalf of the government of Malaysia, the Foreign Minister would like to reiterate his deepest gratitude to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for its assistance in successfully bringing the 12 Malaysians safely out of Israel."
The 12, including two Astro Awani television crew members, were on board the Turkish ship, "Mavi Marmara", which was stormed by Israeli forces in international waters on Monday, with 10 people reported killed.
-Bernama

The arsehole is boss

Today, I thought I might as well jump onto the bandwagon and also talk about arseholes. After all, I don’t want anyone to allege that Malaysia Today is not keeping up with the latest issue.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

One day, all the different parts of the body had a meeting to discuss who should be the boss.

The brain said it should be the boss because it did all the thinking.

The eyes said it should be the boss because it did all the seeing.

The ears said it should be the boss because it did all the hearing.

The mouth said it should be the boss because it allowed the body to eat.

The tongue said it should be the boss because without it the body would not be able to talk or taste any of the food that it ate.

And so the debate continued with the hands, feet, fingers, toes, neck and all the other parts of the body arguing their case as to why they should be the boss. And the debate went on without any consensus until the arsehole butted in (pun intended) and argued that it should be the boss.

There was a moment of total silence before all the parts of the body rolled on the ground laughing uncontrollably. “You can’t be the boss,” they replied. “You are just an arsehole.”

This made the arsehole very angry and it clammed up and refused to open. Nothing could enter the body through the arsehole, not even a plastic device. More importantly, nothing could leave the body and after a week or so the brain became mushy and could no longer think. The eyes became watery and could no longer see. The ears became zingy and could no longer hear. The mouth, tongue, hands, feet, fingers, toes and whatnot all became weak and could no longer function properly.

By the tenth day the body was at the point of death and all the parts of the body relented and agreed that the arsehole should be the boss. The arsehole had clearly proven that it was the most superior part of the body.

From that day on the arsehole became the boss and ruled over the entire body. And this proves you do not have to be smart to become the boss. You just need to be an arsehole. And Malaysia is living testimony to this doctrine that only arseholes can become the boss.

*************************************************

One day, a woman went to her doctor to discuss a ‘problem’ she was facing.

“My husband loves anal sex,” she told the doctor.

“So?” the doctor asked.

“Well, is it safe?” asked the woman.

“Do you enjoy it?” asked the doctor.

With a blush on her face and not daring to look the doctor in the eye, she admitted that she does.

“Well, carry on then,” the doctor replied, “as long as you also enjoy it.”

“But can I become pregnant through anal sex?” asked the woman.

“Of course you can,” the doctor replied. “Where do you think politicians come from?”

*************************************************

“And what is the purpose of the two stories above?” you might ask.

Well, considering that the world is crumbling around us -- the Middle East is bringing the world to the brink of a Third World War with Israel’s attack on the Peace Flotilla, three Israeli submarines are now in the Persian Gulf and are aiming its nuclear missiles on Iran, the three PIGs (Portugal, Italy and Greece) are going bankrupt and may drag the entire world including Malaysia down with it, and much, much more -- yet the entire country is focused on just one issue, Saiful’s arsehole. So, today, I thought I might as well jump onto the bandwagon and also talk about arseholes. After all, I don’t want anyone to allege that Malaysia Today is not keeping up with the latest issue.

And below is a graphical presentation of what is the number one issue for Malaysia and which will decide the future of this country -- whether Anwar had or had not penetrated Saiful’s arsehole with his pecker.

Sad, very sad, when one arsehole decides the future of a country of 27 million people. I wonder, 100 years from now, when Malaysians look back on 2010, what the historians would be saying about this period of Malaysian history. India had its ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’ in June 1756 that changed the history of the Indian continent and planted the seed of the Indian nationalist movement. Are we going to see the ‘Black Hole of Saiful’ in June 2010 also change the course of Malaysian history?

Malaysia’s democracy on trial

Anwar Ibrahim’s trial will be a crucial moment not only for his opposition party, but also the government, writes CHRIS WRIGHT from The Australian Financial Review

But while Anwar is under pressure in court, it’s the government, and in particular the UMNO party at its heart, that is struggling, and not just with election results. Even in a country with a largely compliant mainstream press (but a vibrant alternative media), the government and the country’s other key institutions have found themselves mired in scandal.

Chris Wright, The Australian Financial Review

When Anwar Ibrahim walks into the Kuala Lumpur High Court today, he will at least know what to expect. Anwar, Malaysia’s one-time deputy prime minister and now de facto leader of the first credible opposition in Malaysia’s independent history, is facing the third incarceration of his life. The first was a 22-month detention while a student leader in the 1970s; the second a six-year stint in 1998 for sodomy (overturned in 2004) and corruption, during the administration of his one-time mentor, Mahathir Mohamad. Now, he faces another sodomy charge and the potential of 20 years in jail.

Locally, the press are calling it Sodomy II, like a sequel. "They use the same script," Anwar tells The Australian Financial Review in an interview in his Kuala Lumpur offices. "I’ll leave it to the lawyers. I don’t have any trust in the system."

That’s no surprise. Anwar’s trial represents an enormously significant moment for Malaysia, because it could make or break the opposition movement at a time of intense racial tension on a scale the country hasn’t seen since the race riots of the 1960s.

Malaysia, though a sometimes uneasy patchwork of a Malay Muslim majority and significant Chinese and Indian minorities, has for decades been among the most moderate and peaceful of Muslim nations. Yet in recent months it has become a place where churches are firebombed over the right of Christians to use the word, Allah, and where cows’ heads are kicked around outside Hindu temples.

Some feel these forces have been inflamed by the country’s UMNO party, which leads the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition, seeking to secure its hold on the Malay vote; Anwar calls it "desperate measures to frustrate this peaceful transition". But at the same time Anwar’s rise, with his multiracial coalition securing one-third of the votes and five out of 13 states in landmark elections in 2008, has become something of a catalyst for this expression of tension.

"Yes, of course that is true," he says. "You can see the press, controlled by UMNO, blaming me for causing this, for giving courage to non-Malays to express themselves. But I think the contrary: we are giving that right of expression to all. There is a new generation of Malays who are asserting themselves with greater confidence."

Another jail term for Anwar could do one of two things. It could wreck his coalition, which, despite its 2008 performance, has widely been viewed as fragile: it unites a party formed by his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, during Anwar’s 1998 jail term, with a sometimes hard-line Islamic party and another whose key constituency is overseas Chinese. Lacking a charismatic leader to glue it together, the alliance could fail well before the next elections, due in 2013, although Anwar insists detailed contingency plans are in place among the three parties.

"There is already an agreement what to do in the event if I am convicted, yet again," he says. "The coalition will stay, with or without Anwar."

Alternatively, another conviction could unite opposition behind a cause and give it renewed momentum. It is also not likely to go down well overseas, where doubts over Anwar’s earlier conviction are widespread; public figures who have voiced their concern for him range from Al Gore to former US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and, right up to his death in December, former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid.

The uncertainty is not helping Malaysia, where foreign direct investment numbers are flagging, even after accounting for recession: from $M62.8 billion ($20.9 billion) in 2008 to $M12.6 billion in the first nine months of 2009. "Foreign investors are asking me about Anwar and the firebombings all the time," says one foreign banker in Kuala Lumpur who deals with major foreign investors.

"If Anwar ends up back in the slammer it’s going to have major negative consequences on Malaysia. Whether or not it will mean riots on the streets I don’t know, but it will certainly harm the government."

Anwar is an appropriate figurehead for his country’s painful change. It’s easy to forget it by now, because we had now, but he was once the chosen one to succeed Mahathir: he was deputy leader and finance minister through the Asian financial crisis and was trusted so implicitly he was made acting prime minister for two months in 1997 when Mahathir took a holiday.

But he wanted reform in governance and institutions and when he started linking Mahathir with improper contracts and bail-outs for family members and cronies, his time in the sun came quickly and brutally to an end.

His 1998 trial raised concerns worldwide; Amnesty International considered him a prisoner of conscience, and the injuries incurred in jail cause him back pain to this day.

Because Anwar’s corruption conviction was never overturned, he was banned from politics until April 2008, and took to teaching in the US. Malaysia’s then prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, timed the 2008 elections to be just one month before Anwar’s ban expired, fearing his popular voice, but it didn’t work: Anwar simply canvassed for his wife’s party and when his ban expired she surrendered her seat and he won it in a byelection.

For a time his momentum seemed unstoppable: by September 2008 he was claiming to have secured 30 parliamentary defections that would give his coalition a majority. He demanded a vote of no confidence. But then things stalled. First, he couldn’t force that vote and he says he couldn’t expect his converts to declare themselves until the moment of truth on the parliament floor. Consequently, there’s no proof he ever had the numbers at all.

"In any democratic country we would have taken over by now, because we had the numbers, but there’s no way to go about it," he says. "In this climate of fear and repression you can’t expect people to declare openly now except for the critical moment when the motion is tabled." By this he is referring to the string of opposition figures, including a number of state leaders, who have been comprehensively investigated by federal institutions since the election.

Momentum was further derailed when in June 2008 a new sodomy charge, from a young aide called Saiful Bukhari Azlan, appeared with a convenience of timing that many have found deeply troubling: the taint of sodomy, illegal in this Muslim country, is considered a death knell to an aspiring politician.

Whether people believe the charge or not, defending it has been time-consuming and helped take the wind out of the challenger’s sails. And many events in the build-up to the case - the commandos sent to arrest Anwar when he was on his way to the police station to make a statement, the dispute over whether the prosecution should have to let the defence see evidence prior to the trial, confirmation that Saiful visited prime minister Najib Razak’s residence days before filing his police report - seem to bode badly for him.

But while Anwar is under pressure in court, it’s the government, and in particular the UMNO party at its heart, that is struggling, and not just with election results. Even in a country with a largely compliant mainstream press (but a vibrant alternative media), the government and the country’s other key institutions have found themselves mired in scandal.

There was the death of opposition political aide Teo Beng Hock, who fell from a 14th floor window during questioning by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Then there’s the murder of the Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, the mistress of Najib’s foreign policy adviser, who prosecutors claim was killed by government commandos in 2006 and whose body was destroyed by C4 explosives. There have been scandals over contracts for French submarines, jet engines that have gone missing, and a dispute over the legitimacy of the state government in Perak.

Most recently, a court case regarding the use of the word, Allah, by non-Muslims has flared up. In December the High Court, in dealing with a long-standing dispute between the government and the Catholic weekly, Herald, ruled the government had no power to prohibit the use of the word, Allah, or make it the exclusive preserve of Muslims.

Numerous acts of arson on Christian churches have followed the ruling, while the original debate has become a somewhat farcical exercise in semantics, with the government - which, incidentally, is in the middle of a major public relations tilt called One Malaysia, aimed at promoting racial and religious unity - ruling that Christians in East Malaysia can use the word, Allah, when speaking Malay, but those in West Malaysia cannot.

Many of Kuala Lumpur’s business community are increasingly alarmed. "You see Najib on one hand talking about One Malaysia and a multiracial tolerant country, and on the other you see the complete opposite of that driven by the establishment," says a banker, who, like all commercial figures in this article, asked not to be named for fear of damaging relationships with government.

"This may sound over the top but I would describe Malaysia as almost anarchy at the moment, because all the institutions of government believe their job in life is to restore BN to its previous power. The judiciary believes its job is to prosecute the opposition. The police . . . to prosecute the opposition. MACC, the same. The guys in power are stoking racial unrest because they believe it’s one way of supporting the Malay vote."

Anwar - who took some strident positions on Islam in his youth - has sought to preach a less radical middle ground. "I have asked the world’s most renowned authorities on Islam and nobody, not one, disputes the fact that Allah can be used by anyone," he says.

Even PAS, the Islamic party in Anwar’s coalition, normally known as the voice of those with a more traditional and inflexible view of Islam, has publicly said they have no problem with Christians using the word: the fact that the purely Islamic party is now on more moderate ground than the government has cemented a feeling the government has been playing the race card to try to win back disgruntled Malay voters.

The government has not been blind to change and has taken some reformist measures itself. The most significant concern the New Economic Policy, the measures enacted in the 1960s - by Najib’s father - in support of the local bumiputra ("sons of the soil", or Malay) population.

It guaranteed them, among other things, a certain proportion of civil service jobs and a minimum share of any stockmarket float. While nderstandable in the context of its time, many, Malays included, have come to see it as a crutch that has become a hindrance, damaging competitiveness and reeding complacency.

Late last year Najib began some modest repeals. So does Anwar believe change can be effected peacefully in Malaysia? "Well for the first phase - the five states [in the March 2008 elections] - it did," Anwar says. And he argues his coalition’s cross-faith existence is enormously positive. "It means that in Malaysia, if political leaders don’t continue to incite hatred and use the race card in politics, we can survive," he says.

"The problem is UMNO: they have become an obsolete party of the past."

But Anwar is not a Mandela and will never quite be embraced in that way. For a start, having started out a somewhat radical student and youth leader, he switched allegiances to Mahathir in the 1980s and made his name soaring through the ranks of the party he now dismisses as "the last refuge of scoundrels".

He argues that he joined Mahathir because the leader was talking about reform, and that they were effective through much of the 1980s; it was when a more authoritarian style came into effect that he objected, at great personal cost.

"But can I absolve myself from the entire policy, decisions, excesses? No I cannot. I have made that very clear to the people."

Did he ever engage in the money politics common in UMNO at that time? "When I announced my candidature [as deputy leader], 80 per cent of the UMNO cabinet members, all chief ministers, were with me. So I didn’t need to go beyond that. The culture on the ground, you have big fees, but nothing compared with this cash being paid [in UMNO now]."

Additionally, some accuse him of opportunism in his career, and of inconsistency: a chameleon quality (he uses the word himself), saying what the audience of the moment wants to hear, which raises questions about how he would fare in office when there can be only one decision for all audiences.

Some say he is disorganised, too, and unable to give his closest staff a clear mandate. "He is a great politician inasmuch as his oratory skills are fantastic, and he can definitely speak to a crowd," says one observer. "But he can’t administer and he can’t organise."

Another stresses: "What happened in the election was a vote against government, not a vote in favour of the opposition." As well, mainstream media is unlikely to take his side, although Twitter, Facebook and blogs have helped dramatically, and his support in well-connected and tech-savvy urban areas is much stronger than in rural Malaysia.

Listening to him in English, fluent but understated and sometimes a little unclear, one wonders how the chameleon projects to the heartland.

The answer comes later that night at a rally in a community hall in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Cheras. Here, in the local Malay language of Bahasa, the delivery is utterly different, voice playing the ranges from aggression to a whisper, arms expressively aloft, the audience by turns brought to laughter, indignation and applause.

For sure, this is a home-team crowd, but it’s largely a Malay Muslim crowd, supposedly the very core of UMNO’s appeal, and they are packed 50-deep outside the exits, arms folded, listening intently. Some have brought their children, drooping on shoulders; it is 11.45pm.

He will do the same on alternate nights leading up the trial, campaigning steadily when an election could still be years away. Over noodles with his chief ministers and upporters, well past midnight, he tells the AFR about the coming weekend rallies where he expects crowds far greater than the 1000 or so who turned up tonight.

It’s no surprise he looks tired. Earlier the AFR had thanked him for his time, remarking how busy he must be. "Not busy," he says. "Under siege."

Proud to be Sabahan

thenutgraph.com

DAPHNE Iking once wanted to be a doctor, but she changed her mind when a teacher told her she had a knack for storytelling and writing. She says her father was not too keen on her decision to do a Mass Communications degree, so she paid her own way through university.
Iking recalls her father asking her: "You think you want to be (Datuk) Yasmin Yusoff or Patrick Teoh, is it?" But she has since acted with Teoh and occasionally hangs out with Yasmin; and now, she says, her father has warmed up to her media career.
"He gave me a light squeeze on my arm when he came for my graduation," says Iking. "That was his way, I suppose, of showing his approval."
Iking, who has a Masters in Communications from Universiti Sains Malaysia, started her television career as financial programme Ringgit Sense host in 2003. She has also hosted reality adventure show Explorace, and is currently hosting ntv7's The Breakfast Show, besides writing and acting.
The Nut Graph interviewed her on 25 May 2010 in Petaling Jaya.
TNG: Where were you born and where did you grow up?
Daphne Iking: I was born in Keningau, Sabah in 1978. My mum's a nurse, and she told me she had to drive herself to the hospital to give birth to me because my dad, who was in the police force, was working elsewhere. The story is she kept telling her hospital colleagues she was about to deliver, but for some reason, they didn't take her seriously. So I was delivered by a cleaner at the hospital — she caught me.
We moved to England when I was about four years old because my dad went to continue his education, and came back to Sabah when I was about 10 or 11. We came back speaking English with a cockney accent! I remember I couldn't even sing the national anthem in school — I was so shy, I cried. I promised myself after that I would learn to speak Malay, no matter what.

With relatives in Tambunan, Sabah

What are some of your strongest memories of the place where you grew up?
When we came back from England, we lived in a rented kampung house in Penampang with stilts. My mum grew our own vegetables, so we always had fresh produce to eat. She also reared chickens, ducks and a pig. My sister and I would bring our food scraps to feed the pig, fondly called Babe.
One day, my parents had a big gathering, and my sister and I noticed Babe was missing. We asked my mum, "Where's Babe?" She was very quiet and told us we would get a new pig because Babe was getting fat. That's when we realised he had been slaughtered. We were so upset, we cried and told my mum, "We can't eat our pet!" She told us Babe was not our pet, and he was meant to be eaten. It's one of the reasons I don't enjoy meat until today.
Can you trace your ancestry? 
My parents are both Kadazandusun. My mother's parents were rubber tappers, and my father's family mostly farmers. There are actually 41 ethnic groups within the Kadazandusun. I asked my father which ethnic group we belonged to, but he told me, "Just say we are Kadazandusun, we are the same."
My father was adopted by his parents' relatives. Three children born before him had all passed away. The bobohizan, which is like a shaman, told his parents there was a curse on his family and they had to give their eldest child away to break it.
My paternal great-grandfather used his name Iking as a surname. So from my paternal grandfather onwards, we adopted the surname Iking, which is not so common among Kadazandusuns.

In Tambunan with a rambutan tree her mother made
her plant My parents used to make us balik kampung to Tambunan. I liked it when my paternal grandfather was alive. He used to keep dogs and my grandmother kept cats. I still don't know how that worked. My grandfather used to bathe his dogs in my grandmother's huge kuali, and they would regularly disagree about this.
But after my grandfather passed away, I dreaded going [back]. My parents made us go because they wanted to make sure my siblings and I understood our culture. That was the only time we would speak Kadazandusun and meet all our relatives. I didn't understand when I was young, but nowadays, I can't wait to balik kampung, and I really look forward to it.
Are there any stories from your family that you hold on to?
Once, when we balik kampung, my paternal grandfather told my siblings and I that he would get durian for us. He asked each of us to choose what colour durian we wanted. Any colour. So I said, "I want a blue durian!" My sister, pink. And my brother chose yellow.
The next day, he asked us to come and get our durians. He had spent all night peeling the skin of the durian so that only a thin outer layer remained. He then wrapped each durian in the respective colours — blue, pink and yellow. He told us, "Don't let anyone ever tell you [that things are] impossible."
He loved us so unconditionally. When he was ill with throat cancer, he came to live with us. He could hardly eat due to the cancerous growth on his neck. One day, my mum told me to make his porridge. Instead of just making it plain, I decided to add in ingredients, which resulted in the porridge burning. The burnt smell was horrible, although the top half could still be eaten. I told my grandfather the porridge was burnt, but if he waited half an hour, I could make some more. He stopped me and insisted on eating the burnt porridge, even though he was so ill. He said it was part of my effort.
My mum also told me this story about how she and her mother used to go to tap rubber near their house. On the way there one day, she saw a small, short, old man who started a conversation with her. Her mum, however, couldn't see who she was talking to, and told her to stop talking to her "friend". But my mum answered that all he wanted to know was how to roll rubber sheets. So some people had imaginary friends as children, but my mum says she had a toyol friend.
Are there any aspects of your identity that you struggle with as a Malaysian?
I joined an Unduk Ngadau competition in 2003 because my sister, who was part of the organising committee in Kuala Lumpur, said there weren't enough contestants. Being part of the contest made me realise there's so much more I need to know about my culture. It was a turning point for me.
I wish I could speak better Kadazandusun and knew a lot more so I can pass it all on to my daughter Isobel. It's not really an aspect of my identity that I struggle with, but more about being upset that I don't know more about Kadazandusun culture.

Daphne with daughter Isobel (centre) with parents, sister and brothers

I'm extremely proud to be Sabahan. In Sabah, we don't really bother about who's Malay [Malaysian], Chinese [Malaysian] or Kadazandusun. But in peninsular Malaysia, people will say,  "Oh, you look Malay [Malaysian]..." "Are you Chinese [Malaysian]?" — that kind of thing.
People are also sometimes very ignorant about Sabah. After the Sibu by-election, some friends asked me, "So how was the by-election?" I answered, "Which by-election? I'm not from Hulu Selangor or Sibu, I'm from Sabah." They replied, "Yalah, Sibu is in Sabah, right?" It really surprises me how intelligent people can get facts like this wrong.
Describe the kind of Malaysia you would like for yourself and for future generations.
I'm bumiputera, so I get a 7% discount for property and can open an Amanah Saham Bumiputera account. But when it comes to education, I think that Malay bumiputera still get preference. Bumiputera Kadazandusuns have to compete for their university places, just like Chinese and Indian [Malaysians] and the rest. I think we need a Malaysia that's fair and peaceful, where one group is not trying to dominate over the others.

Daphne, seated, winner of the Unduk Ngadau competition

We should also treat animals and the environment fairly. I'm currently campaigning against the building of a coal-fired power plant in Sabah. The authorities say it's a good location because it's far from the kampung. But they want to locate it in a pristine coastal area, which is also an important catchment area for corals and fish.
I also hear they are disposing lead acid into our land instead of disposing of it properly. I am going to fight for a ban on lead acid [batteries], too. If the Perak government can do it, so can Sabah and other states.

Fitnah 2: Anwar Dakwa Keterangan Doktor Bercanggah

Dari Harakah Daily

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini mendakwa sekali lagi berlaku percanggahan besar dalam keterangan saksi berhubung perbicaraan liwat yang membabitkan dirinya yang berlangsung hari ini.

Percanggahan yang dimaksudkan adalah berkaitan laporan perubatan pakar bedah Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Dr Mohd Razali Ibrahim dengan keterangannya hari ini.

Razali, saksi kedua yang dipanggil hari ini memberi keterangan bahawa setelah merujuk laporannya sendiri dan juga laporan dari makmal jabatan kimia, beliau merumuskan bahawa ada kesan tembusan dengan zakar di dubur pengadu, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Menurut Anwar, dalam laporan perubatan sebelum ini, Razali menyatakan bahawa tiada bukti yang tidak dapat dipertikaikan bahawa tembusan melalui zakar berlaku kerana tiada kesan koyak, kecederaan atau luka mempertahankan diri.

“Kita akan meneliti keterangan doktor yang pada mulanya mengesahkan laporan tidak ada tembusan, sekarang bawa kajian makmal (merumuskan ada penembusan).

“Percanggahan besar berlaku,” katanya kepada media di luar mahkamah hari ini.

Pihak pembelaan hari ini membawa pakar forensik, Dr David Wells dari Australia bagi meneliti laporan perubatan dan pengakuan tiga doktor dari Hospital Kuala Lumpur yang memeriksa Saiful setelah mendakwa dia diliwat.

Wells adalah profesor madya di Jabatan Kriminologi di Universiti Melbourne dan juga ketua perubatan forensik di Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Australia

“Di sebut juga mani, tidak disebut mani siapa, berapa DNA yang didapati.

“Pertama kali selepas dua tahun, baru dapat keterangan ada sampel itu disimpan. Sebelum ini laporan bertulis daripada polis, tiada sampel,” katanya.

Anwar juga memberitahu pihaknya memerlukan sedikit masa untuk pakar forensik Australia tersebut membuat penelitian terhadap laporan setakat yang diperolehi sehingga hari ini.

Mahkamah menangguhkan perbicaraan ke jam 9 pagi esok selepas membenarkan permohonan Karpal yang ingin merujuk kepada pakar forensik dari Australia itu sebelum mula menyoal balas Dr Razali.

With 2 out 5 civil servants deemed corrupt by CUEPACS, the MACC is a big flop as it did not even arrest 0.1 per cent of the corrupt civil servants last year

By Lim Kit Siang,

Cuepacs President Omar Osman said in Temerloh last night that a total of 418,200 or 41 per cent of the 1.2 million civil servants in the country were suspected to be involved in corruption last year.

This is the Bernama report last night:

41 Per Cent Of Civil Servants Suspected Involved In Graft Last Year – Cuepacs

TEMERLOH, June 2 (Bernama) — A total of 418,200 or 41 per cent of the 1.2 million civil servants in the country were suspected to be involved in corruption last year, said Cuepacs president Omar Osman.

He said this was worrying and needed to be tackled urgently.

“To combat the scourge, Cuepacs will work closely with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission so that civil servants involved in corrupt activities can be brought to book,” he told reporters after opening the triennial general meeting of one of the affiliates of the umbrella union, here Wednesday.

Omar said besides corruption, Cuepacs would also not protect civil servants who had discipline problems like playing truant or forging medical certificates.

“There have been cases where a 1 day medical leave prescribed by the doctor have been amended to read 11 days,” said Omar.

– BERNAMA

With Cuepacs making the shocking disclosure that two out five civil servants in government are corrupt, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is a big flop as it only arrested 500 people last year and 144 people in the first quarter of the year.

According to official statistics, only 76 out of the 144 arrested by MACC for corruption in the first quarter were civil servants, i.e. 52.7%.

If the CUEPACS President ‘s estimate is not far wrong, and going by the breakdown of this arrests in the first quarter of this year. i.e. 52.7% are civil servants, this would mean that last year, the number of civil servants arrested was 263 (52.7% of 500) when the total who should be arrested should be 418,200 (41% of 1.2 million).

This is not even 0.1 per cent as it represented a mere 0.06 per cent of the civil servants deemed corrupt by the CUEPACS President.

What has MACC got to say for such shocking failure in the discharge of its statutory duty to combat corruption, that it could only target 0.06% of those deemed corrupt in the civil service last year?

Did the CUEPACS President Omar Osman know what he is talking about?

Or was he misquoted by the official news agency – Bernama?

Malaysians are entitled to proper explanations from all the relevant authorities concerned – CUEPACS, MACC and not least of all, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

MB kata KEADILAN tuduh kaitkan gangster

Pengerusi Umno NS konon nak elak kaitan dengan kongsi gelap tuduh KEADILAN yang tuduh dia terkait dengan gangster. Baca surat dibawah ini elok-elok dan fahamkan...Kepala Pakeda NS tu adik beradik Md Hassan juga... Polis pun tak boleh kawal Pakeda dan klasifikasikan Pakeda seperti gangster India juga hahahahahaa.....

Satu lagi di ingat... Md Hassan kalau nak kawinkan anak tak siapa marah n ak buat besar mana pun tapi jangan lah arah JKR buat jampatan baru, buat paip baru dan macam - macam lagi .... kalau lah MB Kelantan ke Selangor ke mesti 'mayat bernyawa' nama SPRM dah terkinja kinja menyiasat paling tidak media hampeh Utusan dah sibuk berkokok.....

Beyond the electoral process: The struggle for change

By Aliran,

Elections are important but they should be seen in the context of a much larger struggle for reforms and change played out over decades, says Anil Netto.

The Hulu Selangor by-election is over and for many Malaysians hoping for reforms and change, it was a disappointment.

Given the drop in votes in some of the kampungs and Felda settlements, some are even worried that PKR might even meet the same fate as Semangat 46 after the disastrous (for the opposition, that is) 1995 general election, when the party just folded up and its remaining members joined Umno Baru.

Now, we look ahead to the Sibu by-election, which promises to be just as closely contested.

Whitewash

While the disappointment over Hulu Selangor still lingers, it might be useful to recall the 1995 general election.

In the previous general election in 1990, opposition parties had put up a strong showing. They were aided by the political turbulence of the late 1980s (the Operasi Lalang ISA crackdown, the judicial crisis, the split and dissolution of the original Umno).

Thus, when the 1995 general election came along, there were real hopes that more political change was possible including a two-coalition system. But it was also apparent that the economy was booming and the changes made by Mahathir to liberalise culture and higher education had boosted support for the Barisan among minority communities.

In the event, the Barisan romped to victory, in the process almost wiping out the opposition in Penang. Activists who were hoping for reforms and change were crushed and wrung their hands in despair.

But what happened next? The Asian Financial Crisis and reformasi heralded a new era of political ferment and, building on the seeds of change planted years, even decades earlier, the reformasi movement was born. Young Malaysians of all ethnic groups joined hands with veteran activists and politicians to move the country inexorably forward towards real reforms and change even as the old order tried to hold them back.

Critical mass

In this season of by-elections, a coming election in Sarawak and national elections in the Philippines, perhaps it would be timely to step back and reflect on the role of elections in bringing about real change.

In many parts of the world, many people tend to put a lot of hope in elections in bringing about deep and meaningful change. Of course, elections play an important role in bringing about long term social, political and economic policy changes.

But often the excitement in the aftermath of elections gives way to disappointment and disillusionment if the changes are only fleeting or illusory or if compromises are made along the way.

Looking back at the last century, some of the biggest movements for change came about largely outside or were larger than the electoral process. These movements spanned many years, even decades rather than short five-year terms.

Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mandela were some of the biggest names and towering figures of the 20th century. What they all had in common was that they were rallying points for countless numbers of people who aspired for real and meaningful change. Gandhi was the symbol of the anti-colonial movement not just in India but across Asia and Africa, Martin Luther King was the rallying point for the US civil rights movement and Mandela was the icon of the anti-apartheid movement.

What did these movements have in common? They were bigger than the political process. They were not just the work of single individuals or leaders, but they represented movements of ordinary people moving towards an idea whose time had come, gradually building up momentum towards a critical mass.

It was a critical mass like this which led to the downfall of Marcos after elections that were seen to be rigged, even though hopes for real reforms in the Philippines especially land reform have disappointed some.

Long struggle

These popular movements were the result of the cumulative actions and campaigns and hard work of many unsung ordinary individuals, female and male, young and old, sometimes stretching beyond borders in a display of human solidarity over many years, even decades.

If we are looking for shortcuts to bring about real change in society, we are going to be disappointed. There are no short-cuts. The movement for justice has to spread, bit by bit, sending out ripples throughout the world. And we cannot rely on political change alone, though a two-coalition system, would be a big step forward.

But the momentum for change must come from more Malaysians struggling for change - continuing and building on the efforts of previous generations from the 1920s onwards: the anti-colonial movement, the trade unionists, the peasant activists, the human rights activists, the women’s groups, the reformasi group, Hindraf, Bersih, the Abolish ISA movement, and of course, so many ordinary concerned Malaysians. All these, and not just the opposition political parties have played an important role in sustaining and keeping alive the struggle for change.

From a global perspective, no lasting change - women’s right to vote, the 8-hour work day, independence from colonial rule - has come about without long years of hard work, struggle, and even persecution.

And if today, the Pakatan controls four state governments, it is due largely to the efforts of so many different groups over the years. Twenty years ago, who would have imagined the DAP and Pas working together in a coalition; a dozen years ago, there was no PKR or Parti Sosialis Malaysia; not even a Suhakam (for what it’s worth).

Raising awareness

We have come a long way and these efforts must continue until real justice and inclusiveness is achieved not only for all Malaysians but also for the guests in our land - migrant workers, refugees, and asylum seekers.

So elections are important but they should be seen in the context of a much larger struggle for reforms and change played out over decades. Sure, there will be blips along the way, like the setback in 1995 and more recently, Hulu Selangor, but if we keep in mind the larger movement, we may look back at these moments as occasions to learn and re-strategise and patch up weaknesses.

These occasions remind us that we still have a lot of work to do to raise awareness among the people about the importance of joining hands with their fellow Malaysians in the struggle for justice.